Paper shifting gripper



(No Model.) 7 5 Sheets-Sheet 1.

T. G. DEXTER.

PAPER SHIPTING GRIPPER. N0.'599,319. Patented Feb. 22,1898.

W INVENTOR ATTORNEY (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2'.

T. G. DEXTER. PAPER SHIFTING GRIPPER.

No. 599,319. Patented Feb. 22, 1898 WITNZSjES g. g. 505L441 93M I ,4; ATTORNEY T. 0. DEXTER.

PAPER SHIFTING GRIPPER.

5 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. 22, 1898..

INVEN'I'QR I 4 151 A ATTORNEY WITNESSES 5 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Patented Feb. 22, 1898.

(No Model.)

T. G. DEXTER. PAPER SHIFTING GRIPPER. No. 599,319.

INVENTOR.

4 2.0% d ATTORNEY WITNESSES sa 94/ M- r tries.

TALBOT O. DEXTER, OF PEARL RIVER, NEWV YORK, ASSIGNOR T 0 THE DEXTER FOLDER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PAPER SHIFTlNG G RIPPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 599,319, dated February 22, 1898.

Application filed June 22,1896. Serial No. 596,503. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, TALBOT O. DEXTER, of Pearl River, in the county of Rockland, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Paper-Shifting Grippers, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to the class of grippers which are designed more particularly for alining or registering sheets of paper delivered to a paper-folding machine or other machine requiring the sheet to be registered preparatory to operating upon the same.

The invention consists in a novel construction of the gripper and means for operating the same on paper of different widths and adapted to move into the path of the paper during its delivery by the usual traveling tapes, all as hereinafter more fully described, and set forth in the claims.

Referring to the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of that portion of a paperfolding machine to which my present invention is applied. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical transverse section on line X X in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the same line, showing the gripper arranged for registering toward the opposite side of the machine. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detached plan View of the reversible mechanism for registering the paper to either side of the machine. Fig. 6 is a face View of the cam which shifts the grippers and causes the same to move the paper to its registering position. Fig. 7 is an enlarged side view of the gripper with the mechanism for opening and closing it. Fig. 8 is a further enlarged side view of the gripper. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the same with portions broken away to show the interior thereof, and Fig. 10 is a transverse section on line Y Y in Fig. 9.

A denotes the main supportingframe of a paper-folding machine.

B B are the paper-folding rolls, into the bite of which the sheet to be folded is tucked by the folding-blade in the usual and wellknown manner.

a a represent the usual endless tapes,which deliver the paper over the folding-rolls, and a a are paper-supporting bars.

For registering the paper preparatory to folding the same I employ my improved gripper to draw the paper laterally toits requisite position. This gripper is carried by and moves with a reciprocating support consisting, preferably, of a longitudinally-movable bar I), disposed at right angles to the line of travel of the tapes or a and supported in suitable guides b b, secured to the sides of the frame A. This bar receives an intermittent reciprocating motion by means of a lever c, which is at right angles to the bar Z) and pivoted intermediate its length to the frame A and connected at one end to said bar by means of a link 0 and provided at the opposite end with two separate pivot-bearings 0 c disposed in a line at right angles to the length of the lever. Parallel with the line of said bearings is a rotary shaft d, extending across the machine and journaled in suitable bearings d on the sides of the frame A. Said shaft receives rotary motion from the gears of the folding-machine by means of suitable gears 1 2 3 4: 5 6, as represented in Fig. 2 of the drawings.

To the shaft dis affixed a earn 6, and to one of the pivot-bearings c or c of the lever c is pivoted a roller 6, which bears on one side of the cam e and actuates the lever to push the bar I) in one direction. A spring f pushes said bar in the opposite direction.

The object of providing the leverowith the two roller-bearings c 0 respectively, at opposite sides of the cam e and the reversal of the spring f, as hereinafter described, is to adapt said mechanisms for operating the gripper, located at either side of the machine, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and i of the drawings.

When the gripper is placed in the position shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the spring f is placed around a rod f, which is parallel with the bar 1) and is connected at one end to a block f fastened to said bar. Said spring bears with one end against the inner side of the frameAand with the opposite end against a collar g, adjustably secured to the rod f. The tension of the spring maybe adjusted either by shifting the collar g on the rod or by shifting the said rod longitudinally on the block f on the bar and clamping it in its adjusted position by a set-screw 9 I prefer the latter means of adjusting the spring on account of its simplicity.

When the gripper is located as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the rod f is suitably fastened at one end to the frame A and passes with its opposite end freely through the block g, fastened to the bar I), and extends some distance beyond said block and has adjustably secured to its end the collar The spring f is placed on the rod between the block 9 and collar g and forces the barb toward the side of the frame A to which the rod f is fastened;

Each of the two grippers arranged in the aforesaid different positions has the slot j, hereinafter described, in the side toward the center of the machine, as shown.

My improved gripper consists in the shoe h, which is mounted adj ustably on the bar Z) to accommodate the gripper to different sizes of the paper to be registered. This adjustment I prefer to effect by clamping the shoe on the bar by means of set-screws h h, passing through the side of the saddle h which is formed on the shoe and embraces the bar. By loosening these set-screws the shoe can be readily shifted longitudinally on the bar toward its requisite position. The final adj ustment, which must be very accurate, I accomplish by means of a set-screw 2', which is parallel with the bar I) and works in a block 2', clamped adjustably on the said bar by a set-screw 6 After the shoe h has been pushed nearly to its requisite position and the block '21 moved correspondingly and clamped to the bar I) the operator turns the set-screw c' so as to cause it to push the saddle h of the gripper-shoe h to the precise position required ,and then fastens the shoe to the bar by the set-screws h h.

The shoe h is formed with a slot j in the side adjacent to and parallel with the line of travel of the paper delivered by the tapes a a and is formed with a flaringmouth j for receiving endwise the margin of the paper in transit. This allows the gripper-shoe to be set in the path of said margin during the travel of the paper, and thus the gripper is in a position to grip the paper the instant the same is arrested in its movement by the end gage.

The shoe h is provided with an aperture 70, extending from the slot j through the top of the shoe, and in this aperture plays the gripper-finger 7a, which is secured to a shaft l on top of the shoe. To this shaft is also fastened the two-armed or bifurcated tumbler m, over which is a rock-shaft D, which extends across the machine at right angles to the tapes or a and is mounted on suitable supports on the frame A. To this rock-shaft is fastened the tripper, which actuates the gripper-finger This tripper consists of a horizontally-prolonged plate n, disposed parallel to the rock-shaft D and playing between the two arms of the tumbler m. The prolongation of the said plate permits different parts of the length thereof to be utilized for operating the gripping-finger in the different positions to which the gripper may be adjusted, and by using said different parts of the plate the life thereof is prolonged.

In order to impartthe proper spring action to the gripper-finger, so as to obtain an effective hold on the paper and also cause it to quickly release the paper at the proper time, I attach to the shaft Z a lug '12., formed with two faces n n and intervening ridge 0, and attach to the shoe h a spring-finger 0, the free end of which has pivoted to it a roller 0 by which it bears on either of the faces 11 of the lug n, according to the position into which said lug is turned by the action of the tumbler m.

The rock-shaft D may receive its motion by any suitable mechanism connected with the actuating-gears of the folding-machine. An exemplification of said mechanism is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings, and consists of a lever 13, pivoted to the side of the frame A and held at one end in contact with a rotary cam r and connected at the opposite end by a rod r to an arm 9*, attached to the end of the rock-shaft.

The operation of the described gripper and its actuating mechanisms is as follows, to wit: While the paper is in transit over the folding-rollers B B, the lever c pushes the bar I), so as to carry the gripper-shoe into a position to receive through it the margin of the paper, and during this time the lever 19 holds the rock-shaft D in a position to cause the tripper 01 to tilt the tumbler m, so as to lift the gripper-finger 7c. By the time the motion of the paper is arrested by the usual end gage (not shown) the lever 19 turns the rock-shaft D, so as to cause the tumbler m to throw down the gripper-finger 7c. and allow the same to obtain a firm grip upon the margin of the paper within the shoe h, which grip is strengthened by the pressure of the spring-finger 0 upon one of the faces n of the lug at. As soon as'the gripper has said hold on the paper the lever 0 draws back the bar I), which carries with it the gripper, and by the time this has carried the paper to its registering position the lever 29 turns the rock-shaft D back to its original position and thereby causes the gripper-finger to release the paper. The aforesaid operations are repeated during the successive introductions of paper to the foldingmachine.

In using either of the described interchangeable grippers the other of said grippers may be either shifted outward on the bar I) sufficiently to remain out of the path of the paper, or said gripper may be removed from the bar by uncoupling it from the link 0', by which it is connected at one end to the bar 0, then loosening the set-screws, by which the gripper is fastened to the bar 19, then shifting the bar endwise, so as to carry the aforesaid end thereof out of its hearing I) sufficiently to allow the gripper-shoe to be slipped off from said end of the bar.

What I claim as my invention is- 1. The improved sheet-registering mechanism consisting of a paper-shiftin g gripper ad- 3' ustable relatively to the line of travel of the paper to conform to the size of the sheet to be registered, a rock-shaft parallel to the line of travel of the gripper, and a plate attached to said rock-shaft and opening and closing the gripper, said plate being prolonged in a direction parallel to the rock-shaft to utilize different parts of the lengths of the plate for operating the gripper adjusted as aforesaid.

2. In combination with the sheet-delivering tapes, an intermittently reciprocating bar disposed transversely under said tapes, a shoe secured to said bar and provided With a slot for the reception of the margin of the sheet and with an aperture from said slot through the top of the shoe, a gripping-finger pivoted to said shoe and playing through the aforesaid aperture, a rock-shaft parallel with the aforesaid reciprocating bar, a tripper attached to and extending lengthwise of the rock-shaft, and a tumbler attach ed to the gripping-finger and actuated by the aforesaid tripper, as set forth.

3. In combination with the laterally-reciprocating gripper-shoe and gripper-finger pivoted thereto, a rock-shaft over said shoe and parallel with the line of travel thereof, a tripping-plate fastened to and extending lengthwise of said rock-shaft, a tumbler attached to the axis of the gripper-finger and actuated by the tripping-plate,a two-faced lug attached to the axis of the gripper-finger, and a spring bearing on said lug and imparting spring action to the gripper-finger, as set forth.

4. The combination of the reciprocating gripper-shoe, a gripper-shaft mounted on said shoe parallel to the line of its movement, the gripper-finger, a two-armed tumbler and a two-faced lug, all fastened to said shaft, a rock-shaft parallel with the gripper-shaft, a tripping-plate attached to said rock-shaft and playing between the two arms of the tumbler, and a spring bearing alternately on the two faces of the tumbler during the rocking of the gripper-shaft, as set forth.

5. The combination of a longitudinallymovable bar extending across the machine, a gripper mounted on said bar, a spring forcing said bar in one direction, a rotary shaft, a cam-disk secured to said shaft, a lever pivoted intermediate its length and connected at one end to the aforesaid bar and provided at the opposite end with two separate journalbearings respectively at opposite sides of the cam-disk, and a roller pivoted interchangeably to said bearings for forcing the lever in opposite directions, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name this 8th day of June, 1896.

TALBOT C. DEXTER. [L. s] Witnesses:

E. P. STOUGHTON, V. E. MARSH. 

